Article of leather goods having foldable multicard holder



March 18, 1969 AL SEAMON ARTICLE OF LEATHER GOODS HAVING FOLDABLE MULTICARD HOLDER Sheet Filed Dec. 16, 1966 INVENTOR. fiL SIT/9M0 March 18, 1969 AL SEAMON 3,433,279

ARTICLE OF LEATHER GOODS HAVING FOLDABLE MULTICARD HOLDER Filed Dec. 16, 1966 Sheet 3 of 2 INVENTOR. J91- SEE/10 United States Patent 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An article of leather goods, such as a billfold, wallet, secretary, handbag, purse or the like, having a multicard holder and a pocket therefor, said multicard holder being foldable and retractable into said pocket and being removable therefrom while remaining anchored at one end thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to leather goods of the type illustrated for billfolds, wallets, secretaries, handbags, purses and the like, including those which are made of leather substitutes. The invention also relates to the art of multicard holders of the type conventionally used in wallets and secretaries and the like.

Description of the prior art Multiple card holders of the type used in wallets and secretaries which are held in place by a clip. The several card holders are hingeably secured to each other and to the wallet or secretary on opposite sides of the clip. They are not removable except by disengagement of the clip. They are not retractable into a pocket. They are not extensible. Other multicard holders which are interconnected and foldable are known to the art, but not in relation to a conventional wallet or secretary or the like. While they may be tucked into and removed from a pocket in such wallet or secretary they are not provided with the connecting or anchoring means of the present invention which enables them to be removed in their entirety from such pocket while being tied thereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises the following elements:

An article of leather goods of the character described, a pocket formed therein, a foldable multicard holder and connecting means connecting one end of said multicard holder to said pocket whereby the multicard holder may be removed in its entirety from said pocket for use, while remaining tied thereto, and whereby it may be retracted back into said pocket when not in use. An important feature of the invention resides in the nature of the connecting means which enables the multicard holder to be folded fiat within the pocket when retracted therein, while permitting it to be removed in its entirety from the pocket for exposure and use of each of its several card holding sections.

BRIEF DECRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing wallet having a multicard holder of the character herein described secured thereto and shown removed from its pocket.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view showing said wallet opened up and spread out flat to show its construction and the manner in which the multicard holder is secured thereto.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, showing the multicard holder in outwardly extended position.

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FIGURE 4 is a similar view showing the multicard holder retracted in storing position, said view being a section on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing the multicard holder in retracted position.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 66 of FIGURE 1 showing the pull-out tab on the multicard holder.

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of a purse, showing it in open position, with a multicard holder of the character herein described projecting outwardly from a pocket formed therein.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the details of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawing and with particular reference to FIGURES 1 to 6 thereof, it will be noted that an article of leather goods, in this case a wallet 10, is provided with a multiple card holder 12 and a pocket 14 into which said multiple card holder may be inserted. The multiple card holder comprises a series of interconnected transparent envelopes 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 respectively. Hinge element 30 is provided between envelopes 16 and 18, hinge element 3-2 is provided between envelopes 18 and 20, hinge element 34 is provided be tween envelopes 20 and 22 and hinge element 36 is provided between envelope 22 on the one hand and envelopes 24, 26 and 28 on the other hand. =It is therefore possible for the several envelopes to pivot relative to each other, hinges 30, 32 and 34 functioning with respect to envelopes 16, 18, 20 and 22, and hinge 36 functioning with respect to envelopes 22, 24, 26 and 28, each of these envelopes being individually pivotable on said hinge.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description of the multicard holder that the several envelopes may be spread out and opened up for insertion or removal of credit cards, automobile registration cards, driving licenses, photographs, and other identification cards and similar documents. By the same token the multicard holder is foldable upon itself in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. Thus envelope 18 folds flat upon envelope 16, envelope 20 folds flat upon envelope 18, envelope 22 folds fiat upon envelope 20, and envelopes 24, 26 and 28 fold flat against each other and against envelope 22.

It will be observed that a panel 40 is attached to envelope 16 by means of a hinge element 42. The opposite end of panel 40 is secured to the inner wall 44 of pocket 14 by means of stitching 46 or other suitable fastening means. Panel 40 is a flexible sheet capable of rolling and flexing in either direction. This is illustrated in FIGURE 3 wherein panel 40 is shown stretched out flat to the right of stitching 4-6 and it is illustrated in FIGURE 4 wherein said panel 40 is shown stretched out flat to the left of stitching 46.

It will be noted that envelopes 16 to 28 are generally of equal length, slightly shorter then the depth of pocket 10. The length of panel 40, and more particularly that portion which extends between hinge 42 and stitching 46, is approximately half the depth of the pocket. Consequently when the multicard holder is pulled out of the pocket to its position illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3, panel 40 will permit all of the envelopes to be removed from the pocket, thereby exposing all to use. Conversely, when it is desired to return the multicard holder to the pocket, it is folded upon itself in the manner shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 and when pushed into the pocket it will be restrained by panel 40 from passing behind a predetermined point within the pocket. Stated differently, panel 40 serves as a connecting and anchoring web between the multicard holder and the wallet.

Reference to FIGURE 4 will show that when the several elements which comprise the multicard holder are folded upon themselves and inserted into pocket 14 they comprise a relatively flat compact assembly which fits easily and conveniently in said pocket. This would normally render it difficult or awkward to remove the multicard holder from the pocket and consequently a pull tab 50 is provided at the unattached end of the multicard holder. As an illustration of how it may be attached it is shown in FIGURE 1 to be connected to envelope 28. Consequently when the several elements which comprise the multicard holder are inserted within pocket 14, pull tab 50 will project outwardly therefrom as illustrated in FIGURE 4 so that it may be gripped between the fingers and pulled to draw the multicard holder out of the pocket.

The construction of wallet will now be considered although it will be clearly understood that this is purely illustrative and does not in any way limit the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. As shown in FIGURE 2 wallet 10 consists essentially of a back panel 52 and an interrupted inside panel '54 which is normally folded upon the outer panel 52. Inner sections 56 and 58 define the inner compartments of the wallet when it is assembled. End tabs 60 and 62 close 01? the ends of the wallet and hold it together in assembled condition. It will be noted that connecting web 40 is attached by means of stitching 46 or other securing means to inner section 56. It is between said inner section 56 and inner panel 54 that pocket 14 is formed. Other details of construction of the wallet are of no significance in connection with the present invention.

With regard to the construction of the multicard holder, the showing in the drawing is also illustrative. It may be made of one, two or more sheets of suitable material such as vinyl or any other material of which card holders are conventionally made. In the illustrated form of the invention web 40 extends into the first envelope 16-. It is a relatively strong, flexible sheet which attaches the entire multicard holder to the wallet. It is heat sealed to envelope 16 along hinge 42, as well as along the lower edge 16a of said envelope. The panels which form the remaining envelopes are heat sealed to each other along the several hinge elements above mentioned and also along their lower edges 18a, 20a, 22a, 24a, 26a and 28a respectively. Similarly envelopes 24 and 26 are heat sealed along their outer edges 24b and 26b respectively. A heat seal is similarly provided between envelope 28 and pull tab 50. As has above been indicated any other convenient and conventional method of assembling the several elements of the multicard holder may be used. What is essential to the present invention is that the multicard holder exist of at least one and preferably a plurality of card holding envelopes which may be folded flat upon each other for insertion into the wallet pocket and which are provided with a connecting web such as web or panel 40 above mentioned.

FIGURES 7 and 8 illustrate another application of this invention. A ladys purse 70 is shown provided with a pocket 72 and a multicard holder 74. A connecting web 76 is provided between the multicard holder and one of the inner walls of pocket 72. As was the case with wallet 10 above described connecting web 76 is attached to the pocket wall along a line 78which extends approximately mid-way between the closed and open ends of the pocket. The efiective portion of the connecting web, that is the portion which lies between the first envelope of the multi card holder and the line of attachment 78 to one of the walls of the pocket, is approximately half the width of each of the envelopes. If desired the connecting web may be somewhat longer in order to insure full access to the first envelope when the multicard holder is removed from the pocket. By first envelope we mean the envelope which is immediately attached and adjacent to the connecting web.

The construction of multicard holder 74 ma be conventional. As illustrated in FIGURE 8 each individual envelope consists of a pair of panels 80 and 82 which are heat sealed along their lower edges 84 as well as along their side edges to form hinge elements with respect to the adjoining envelopes. A card 86 may be inserted into any one of these individual envelopes through its open upper end.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and of two applications thereof. It will be understood that other forms of the invention and other applications thereof are included within the broad spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of leather goods of the character described having a pocket formed therein, a card holder within said pocket, and a connecting web between said card holder and said pocket, said connecting web permitting withdrawal of said card holder from said pocket while remaining attached thereto, and permitting insertion of said card holder into a predetermined position within said pocket, said connecting web being a flexible sheet attached at one end to an inner wall of said pocket and attached at its opposite end to said card holder, said card holder comprising a plurality of end-to-end interconnected envelopes which are foldable one upon the other and forming a multicard holder, said connecting web being attached to one of said envelopes and being thereby attached to said multicard holder as a whole, the length of said connecting Web being approximately half of the width of said multicard holder when the several individual envelopes which it comprises are folded flat upon each other, a pull tab being attached to that end-to-end interconnected card holding envelope of the multicard holder which is farthest removed from the envelope to which the connecting web is attached, whereby the multicard holder may be withdrawn from the pocket by gripping and pulling upon said pull tab, and a plurality of additional card holding elements each attached to said farthest removed card holding envelope at a common hinge element.

- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,493,409 1/ 1950 Knee -39 2,512,588 6/1950 St. Thomas 15039 2,748,821 6/1956 Hutchinson 150-39 3,291,178 12/1966 Elliif 15039 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 15 038 

